Tender wedding vows for a spouse at a backyard ceremony

I still remember the morning we planted that first tomato seedling together, your hands covered in soil, laughing when I couldn't tell a weed from what we'd just put in. You've taught me patience in a hundred small ways since then, and today I vow to keep learning from you.

I promise to always save you the last bite, to notice when you're quiet in a room full of people, and to hold your hand a little tighter when you need me to. I promise to be your soft place to land.

In this backyard and in every home we make together, I vow to choose you every single day. To water what we've planted. To sit with you in the shade when the world gets too bright.

You are my favorite person to do nothing with, and my greatest adventure all at once. I promise to protect what we've built here, and to never stop marveling at the gift of knowing you.

I think about that tomato seedling often, how you trusted me to show you something I barely knew myself. You've always believed I knew what I was doing, even when I didn't. Today I vow to keep growing alongside you, roots tangled, reaching for the same light.

I promise to pour your coffee the way you like it, to read your silences like love letters, and to remind you of your own strength when you forget. I promise to be your steady ground.

In this backyard where we've laughed and dreamed and made our plans, I vow to meet you every single day with open hands. To tend to us the way you taught me to tend to living things, with attention and care and hope.

You are my peace and my excitement, my comfort and my challenge. I promise to honor what we've planted here together, and to never take for granted the extraordinary gift of being chosen by you.